Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Game Review: Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare

"War is delightful to those who have not yet experienced it."-Erasmus

When you begin the game you start out as the FNG "Soap" MacTavish the newest member of Lieutenant Price's British 22nd SAS Regiment. Throughout the game you will switch between Soap MacTavish in Russia tracking Khaled Al-Asad who stages a coup in the middle east, with the funding of Ultranationalist Imran Zakhaev and Paul Jackson, a U.S. Marine stationed in the Middle East. You will also get to play as Lieutenant Price fifteen years earlier as he and Captain MacMillan sneak through the the partially irradiated Ukrainian city of Pripyat, within the Chernobyl Zone of Alienation. Another point in the game you will get to play a AC-130 Spectre Gunship gunner giving Lieutenant Price air support. Call of Duty 4 begins as you (Yasir Al-Fulani) are abducted by Victor Zakhaev, son of Imran Zakhaev and thrown in the backseat of a car and driven thru the streets as a coup is going on and then tied to a post as Khaled Al-Asad kills you all while being broadcast. CoD4 had my attention at that point, and I can say it never let go! CoD4 offers one of the most compelling game experiences that rival many hollywood movies! If I can say CoD4 is equally entertaining as films such as Full Metal Jacket, Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down and Platoon. The game looks like a next gen title, the graphics really pull you into the whole experience and if you have an HD TV with 1080p resolution and a decent home theater you'll be in gaming nirvana! The realism of the in game graphics is partially attained by utilizing high dynamic range lighting which can be seen throughout the multitude of environments. As I said before a decent home theater will really enhance the overall experience as CoD4's sound track and sound effects are top notch and the multiple layers of voice acting is very engrossing. Without spoiling the experiences within CoD4 you will really feel the chaos of war from the very first mission on the tanker till the final moments on the bridge.As many reviews have pointed out the off line game is kinda short, I finished it in little over 5 hours but thats only a fraction of the fun CoD4 offers. Time to put those skills to the test and go online! For those Cod4 Online FNG's you begin a lvl 1 Private and advance up the ranks by getting XP, you earn XP by killing opponents, completing objectives, like defusing the bomb in Sabotage or Search and Destroy. The amount of XP gained varies depending on the type of match the user is playing. When the user gains enough Experience Points their rank/level increases. Below is a list of the levels/ranks available.1-3 Private4-6 Lance Corpral7-9 Corpral10-12 Sergeant13-15 Staff Sergeant16-18 Gunnery Sergeant19-21 Master Sergeant22-24 Master Gunnery Sergeant25-27 2nd Lieutenant28-30 1st Lieutenant31-33 Captain34-36 Major37-39 Lieutenant Colonel40-42 Colonel43-45 Brigadier General46-48 Major General49-51 Lieutenant General52-54 General55 ComanderAs you advance up the ranks new weapons, challenges and perks are unlocked, challenges are weapon specific and include getting a certain number of kills, headshots, crouching or prone kills etc. by completing these challenges you are rewarded XP and unlock attachments for the weapon such as laser sights, silencers, or scopes. Perks are also unlocked in the same fashion, perks give players an added bonus, players can choose 3 in your "create a class" which allows the player to customize their player.The following is a list of known perks and what they offer. The number of available perks keeps the online experience level and doesn't give one player a huge advantage over another.Perk 1: Bomb SquadC4 x 2 Claymore x 2 RPG-7 x 2 Speicial Grenades x 3.....(Gives you 3 more smoke/flash grenades) Frag x 3 Bandolier.....(Adds more ammo to your clip) Perk 2: Juggernaut.....(More Health) Slieght of hand.....(Reload quicker) Stopping power.....(More weapon damage) UAV Jammer.....(Jams enemy radar) Sonic Boom..... Double Tap..... Perk 3: Extreme conditioning.....(Sprint longer) Steady Aim.....(Steadier aiming) Last Stand.....(Shoot your pistol while dying) Deep Impact.....(Better bullet penetration through walls) Dead Silence.....(Less noise when running) Iron Lungs.....(Hold breath longer when sniping) Eavesdrop.....(Allows you to listen in on enemy chat) Martyrdom.....(While dying, player pulls a grenade) CoD4 MW offers plenty of variety with a plethora of online modes such as Team Deathmatch, Free-for-All, Domination, Ground War, Sabotage, Headquarters, Tactical, Old School, and Hardcore. Each mode offers differnt rules of engagements to keep the online expirence fresh and not an XP grind to 55. Call of Duty 4 is a terrific addition to your PS3 collection and really showcases the potential of your system, it's also avail on PC and X360. For more intel check http://www.charlieoscardelta.com/9/10 Offline10/10 Online